…I think everyone would benefit in having variance in training partners.
Read moreGreater Than..Less Than..Equal Too
>,<, = Do you remember these symbols?
There is a good chance you have not thought about them since a basic math class a couple years before math became really difficult. If you don't remember what they symbolize I will tell you: Greater Than, Less Than, And Equal too. Don't quit reading just yet, I promise this is not a Math Blog..
You should think of Greater Than, Less Than, and Equal too it comes with comes to choosing your training partners. In an ideal training situation you should train with someone much better than you (>), Someone you are much better than (<) and someone you are very competitive with (=). Each of theses training partners will play a crucial role in your development. It is important to not have a imbalance in training time with any one of the three.
Greater Than - This is the person who skills, strength, and experience are far superior to yours. In hard training with this person you seldom (if ever) generate any of your own offense and are typically frustrated, exhausted and often time discouraged after your goes. Despite the frustration and fatigue that comes with it, training with this person is very valuable.
Pros of this type of partner include:
Improved Defense- When you are constantly having to fight and try to defend a barrage of offensive attacks you almost can't help but develop better defense. Evolve or die...
Pick up "good tendencies"- Superior Wrestlers move, fake, and react certain ways. The more you train with a wrestler like this you can't help but pick up on certain tendencies and will slowly start to implement them into your own game. Better through osmosis....
Humility- It is good to be humble. Wrestling with the best guy will certainly keep you humble and will show your that there is lots of work to be done.
Often, ambitious wrestlers want to exclusively train with the best guy in the room. While in theory this makes sense, going with the best guy in your room exclusively can be stifling to your development.
Cons of training with this type of partner:
"Shell Up"- If every shot you take is stuff and every offensive attack is countered you will eventually stop being offensive. Once you cease to be offensive it becomes very difficult to win.
Lack of Confidence- If every go you are always the "nail" and never the "hammer" you can't help but become discouraged and once confidence is lost it is difficult to get back.
Never develop new skills- It is very difficult to try a new technique on a superior opponent. You will always resort back to the skills and techniques you are most comfortable with because they have the best chance of POSSIBLY working.
Less Than-This is the person who skills, strength, and experience are INFERIOR to yours. When training with this person you have the chance to be the hammer. This is an opportunity generate your own offense, try new techniques and learn to break someone. It can be counter intuitive but there is tremendous value in training with someone who is weaker, slower and less experienced.
Pro to training with this type of partner include:
Skill Development: This is a great opportunity to work the techniques you have been drilling in a "live" situation. It's unlikely that you will be able to go from drilling a technique to hitting it on a world champion the first time you try it live. You must walk before you can run...
Learn to break someone- The ability to build a lead and rack up points is a skill like anything else. It is always good to challenge yourself to score as many point as possible. When you are training with someone you can hammer it is always best to do just that...Don't get a takedown and lay on top make use of the situation. (This will only help your partner as well....remember your >)
Confidence- Winning is a skill the more your do it the better you get at it.
Just like you should not always be the "nail" you should not be always be the hammer as well. You never want to be the big fish in a small pond you can't exclusively compete with people you are better than.
Cons of training with this type of partner:
False Sense of Reality- If you score on every shot you take, it is unrealistic. You will never develop the skill of shooting 2 times in a row or stringing together multiple attacks. Constant success is unrealistic and you may not be able to handle high pressure matches.
Scrambles- When you are always getting clean easy scores you never develop scrambling ability, you may fatigue quickly in an extended scramble situations.
Equal to - This is the person who skills, strength, and experience are very similar to your own. In hard training it is typically the most similar to real competition. The points are fewer and the scrambles are more frequent. This is the partner your are most competitive with because you both recognize you are similar in ability.
Pro to training with this type of partner include:
Learn to compete- It is human nature to be more competitive with someone who you recognize to be most similar to your own size/skill level/ ability. They will most likely recognize the same in you. In this type of training there is no distinct "Hammer" or "nail" the person who has the most success is the one that competes the hardest.
Increased Chain Wrestling- When you are wrestling someone with equal ability it is rare points are scored on the first attempt. In order to score points in these situations it is imperative to string together multiple attacks and be relentless in your hand fight.
Improved Conditioning- When you are working harder to score or defend you begin to develop better conditioning. You will learn to wrestle when you are tired.
Cons to training with this type of partner include:
More likeliness of injury- The harder you are competing, the greater the chance of injury. If every go there is intense hand fighting, scrambling and pride is on the line there is always a greater risk or injury.
A very natural question would be:
"How often should I train with each?"
I am not sure there is an exact answer. I think it largely depends on the individual, but I think everyone would benefit in having variance in training partners. As a general guideline I would suggest: 50% of your hard training with partners you are very competitive with, 30% with a partner who is much better than you and 20% with a partner you are much better than.
Depending on the your skill level and room this concept could be difficult to imply, but it is important to understand that everyone in the room has a role at making the room better as a whole.
